The Lonely Drive on Christmas

Christmas morning 2011 at 3:00 am! I couldn't sleep because I was so excited for Christmas morning. Finally when 6:30 rolls around we hop out of bed, run to the tree and tear open presents. Always a good way to start the morning. I have never been able to sleep the night before Christmas because growing up my older brother and I shared a room so there was more talking and that has continued and probably always will. I don't think the lack of sleep came from the presents but more from the spending time with my family all day and just sitting around watching our new movies or putting together the new toys or fixing the scooters that we just got because they couldn't handle the jump! But it has always been a day to spend with my family. Since I have been on my mission I have spent Christmas with other missionaries so it has still been like having a family there with me.

However, the thing that stuck out to me this Christmas was not only that it was Sunday but that on our way to church (at 8:00 am) we saw so many people driving, driving either alone or with their dog. And for some reason that really got to me, to see so many people not with their families made me realize just how blessed I am. Seeing all the people driving and knowing exactly what my family was doing, which was watching all the nieces and nephews open presents and sharing that joy together and there I was sitting there driving to church and seeing all of these people alone on this holiday. That sight really made me want to share the gospel even more! I wanted to stand on Cafe Rio and yell the plan of salvation and that we can be with our families for time and all eternity! I realized the great need for temples on the earth today and the need for a Prophet to lead and guide us in these troubled times. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a huge emphasis on families. We believe that families are the most important social unit in society. We learn from our families and in them we grow physically and spiritually and we can become closer to God as we study together and pray together. It breaks my heart to see people alone on the holidays because that means they are alone most of the year! Lets end this and bring our families back together! We can do it with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Let your light shine in!!

So when your standing in a dark room can you see the light slowly fill the room? When your standing in a light room can you see the dark creep in and take over the light? Well, let me answer those so we are on the same page. You can definitely see the light coming into a dark room from either under the door or through the window or many other light sources. But it is not as easy to see the dark creep into the lighted room, it always looks like the dark is at bay. Why does this even matter? Well let me tell you why this matters, let me tell you the point of this conversation! I hope you will find that it is a very important topic because it is to me.

    I ask those questions because light is just like the light of Christ or the gospel and the dark that creeps into our lives is just like sin or evil that sneaks its way into our lives. Picture with me for a second that you are standing in that dark room, and your in that dark room because there are evils in your life that are surrounding you at all time, whether they be drugs alcohol or other things in this world that Satan tries to drag us down with. But you are standing in this room and you can see under the door that there is light out there. It is pretty easy to spot that light when you are in that dark room right? And as you are standing there the door slowly opens and the room is filled with light!! I don't know about you but I like the light a lot more than I like the dark. Now lets pretend you are in a well light room. Where's the dark? You have to purposely be looking for the darkness under the door, but if your not seeking it out it is easy to ignore. Now the door opens and does the darkness cover the light and make it dark in the room? No, the light extends outward into the darkness and makes it easier to see out there.

Isaiah Ch. 60

   Now let us asses this analogy. The light I am speaking of is the light of Christ! When you are surrounded by evil you can notice even the slightest bit of light or the slightest bit of change in your life because of the gospel! The light of Christ even in a small amount can change your life. In my missionary experience of bringing the light into someones life is a completely life changing experience for both sides. On the side of the person in the dark room or the person without the light because they can see the light come into their lives! And on the side of the person in the well lite room or person with the gospel in their lives because they can see how what they have in their lives changed someone else life and it makes them want to share it more often! So i',m asking you if you feel you are in the dark then open the door and let the light in, go to mormon.org or lds.org and see and feel the light and if you have the light share it, open the door and bring light to those in the dark!

Original Secret Agent

           I know what your thinking. Is that Elder Brunson or a secret agent? It's very hard to get us in the right order because of the similarities I have with a secret agent. Take James Bond for example, he always looks fresh and wears a suit. I would make the argument that I do too. I seem to be holding a gun in that picture (lets face it I'm just pretending) but James Bond has a real gun all the time. However, there are a lot of differences between me and 007, the first one is I'm not British and I don't have a license to do harm to anyone. Second, I'm serving the Lord and he is serving the Queen. Third, my morals are a little different then that of James Bond. There are a lot more characteristics that 007 has that I don't and that I have that James doesn't! Even though I look pretty convincing in this picture it is obvious that I am not 007!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I thought of this comparison after looking at this picture of myself and reading this quote,

Who is it?

"This is what I learned: that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say." By Brenda Ueland. It's the original part that really stuck out to me, because we are all original we are one of a kind, we literally all different. Even though everywhere I go I remind someone of their brother or cousin or friend, I still know that I am an individual and no one is exactly like me and I'm not just like them. I can tell the difference between me and all those other people! What really makes everything even more impressive is that God knows each one of us........... He knows us perfectly and He knows us individually. How amazing is that? He knows your personality and He knows what you can handle and what you can't. Heavenly Father wont throw anything at you that you can't handle because he knows you and your strengths and weaknesses. So be original, be yourself, be God's child. No matter how far away you may get from Him, He will always know you and welcome you back to Him. Because where were you originally? You were with Him! So be original and live with Him here on this Earth.

Stray Hairs? Not on my Watch!

Mine wasn't that bad!

So I'm going to go random here. I just looked in my computer screen and could see my reflection and what did I see? Crazy hairs! A couple stray hairs on my head. Ridiculous I agree. For those who know me I don't like my hair to be touched, even if it only takes 30 seconds to do it in the morning I still don't like it. But that's not the point, the point is is that I had hairs out of order, hairs that were on there own agenda. How do I fix them? Well, either gel or some scissors because there will be no disorderly conduct here! That's a pretty harsh move right? Just straight up cut my hairs for being independent, after I thought about it seemed harsh. Kind of like murdering people for their religious beliefs. That's similar to what the apostles of Christs time went through. They were standing for something different and they were cut off or murdered for it. Even though the comparison  between apostles and stray hairs is a long stretch, I hope that you can make the connection with me. The link in my mind is because the apostles were standing for what they believe in and what they know to be true they were killed. And because my hairs are standing up out of line much like the apostles did (even though they stand for two different reasons and the apostles stood for what is right) they both were cut off. I guess the apostles were the stray hairs of their time. That is my thought for the day I hope it wasn't to random! Live Large!

Everything is Built Around Something!

Everytime I line up to take a free throw I place the end of my shoe in line with a tiny nail in the middle of the free throw line. That nail is what the entire basketball court is built around. It is placed right in the middle of the free throw line and if you line up with that nail you will be directly in line with the hoop. After that you have to do your part to finish the free throw. The nail is doing it's job, it is giving you the guidance you need to be successful but it can't shoot the ball for you. However, it will always be there for a reference point.
  This is the part where I relate the Gospel to a basketball court. I was shooting around last Monday on a carpeted gym floor and I have to line up with random spots on the floor and assume its the center line and I thought "you know what? The nail that is suppose to be in the middle of the basketball court is a lot like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." That thought popped into my mind because the basketball court is built around that nail and likewise the entire church is built around Jesus Christ. The LDS church has many points of doctrine to it but like the Prophet Joseph Smith said "“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” The fundamental principles to a basketball court are the nail and the hardwood, all the lines and players are just appendages to it. The Gospel is centered around Jesus Christ, we worship Him and know we can return.

WHO IS THE GREATEST!

Is Muhammad Ali humble? Well, for anyone that has every heard him or seen him box the answer is probably no. But what is being humble? Is it declining that your great at something when someone asks you "how good are you"? It could be but I think humility takes on many different forms. As we know athletes struggle with being humble all the time. I hear that LeBron James hasn't been very humble in the playoffs this year but i don't know I don't get to watch him.From what we have seen with Mr. Ali here, is some great boxing but less than humble speech. Some of his quotes are my favorite, like

"I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own." or as we all have seen "I am the greatest". Sometimes we may feel that way but we defiantly don't need to go around honking our own horn. I'm not trying to put down Mr. Ali I'm just saying he isn't the best example of humility.

  However, there is at least one athlete that showed get humility while preforming and in my opinion is the greatest running back of all-time! He was an animal on the grid iron and they called him "Sweetness". Whenever he scored a touchdown he didn't spike the ball or do the funky chicken, he just simple handed the ball to the ref or set the ball down and ran off the field. In other words he acted like he had been there before. Probably one of the best examples in sports this world has ever seen. I know there are many athletes and other famous people that are humble but I chose Walter Payton because he had a lot of reasons to be cocky or full of himself  about and he chose not to be.

    I can't find who said it in the April 2011 General Conference but someone said "Humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking less about yourself". And who was it in history that set the perfect example of being humble? Oh that's right.... Jesus Christ. Think of all the things he could have been less then humble about, he was the literal Son of God, he healed the sick, he had the same power and authority of his Father in Heaven, he was resurrected from the dead after 3 days. But was he full of himself? No, he showed us how to live our lives, he taught us through example how to be humble servants of God. He was the only perfect man on the earth and he even had to humble himself to return to live with his Father. If he, being one greater than us was humble don't we too need to humble ourselves before God? The answer is yes no matter who you are it is yes. I know I'm not perfect, I have a long way to go before I'm as humble as God wants me to be but i am trying as we all should be. Follow Christ's example and humble yourself to God's will.